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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Homeschooling can take many forms

Online options have expanded choices, but parental control remains key factor

Jodi Summit
Posted 2/12/11

With schools in Tower-Soudan and Orr slated for closure, parents are weighing their options when it comes to educational choices for their children.

To help inform area parents, the Timberjay is …

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Homeschooling can take many forms

Online options have expanded choices, but parental control remains key factor

Posted

With schools in Tower-Soudan and Orr slated for closure, parents are weighing their options when it comes to educational choices for their children.

To help inform area parents, the Timberjay is offering a three-part series on the options available in the area. Last week we explored charter schools and online high schools. This week, we’re look at homeschooling.

Homeschooling has been around a long time, but the choice has become an easier one for parents in recent years.

An increasing array of online curricula, and even online high schools, have opened up the opportunities for parents who want greater involvement in their children’s education.

Parents choosing to homeschool must meet certain requirements set forth in state law. Parents who choose to homeschool their child must notify the resident school district, provide immunization information, provide a copy of the student’s instructional calendar, and must conduct an annual assessment using a norm-referenced standardized achievement test. The parents do not need to provide the results of the assessment to the school distict. Parents also must assume the full cost of their own child’s education.

There are three main approaches to homeschool education. Some families stick to one approach, or mix-and-match to suit their child’s learning style.

The first is a more traditional “school-at-home” approach. Parents often take the role of the teacher, and students follow a curriculum that is fairly similar to one at a regular public school, though it may include topics such as religion and Bible studies. Students typically will read textbooks or other online materials, complete worksheets, and have regular assignments due every day. There are many school-at-home curricula available. Parents can purchase all-in-one packages, or can pick and choose from different providers for specific subjects.

Many families use a more project-based approach to learning. They will choose several topics of interest to study in-depth, perhaps spending a significant amount of time on one topic. Children of different ages can then work together. They will typically try to create a truly multi-disciplinary approach, weaving in language arts, science, math, art, music and history whenever possible. Families will use the library, field trips, community mentors, documentary films and other resources during their studies. Children may use non-traditional methods to show their learning, creating scrapbooks, videos, or other types of artwork to document their studies.

The third approach to homeschooling is called interest-led learning or unschooling. While there are many definitions of unschooling, the underlying premise is that children will learn most effectively by pursuing the things that interest them the most, as well as by being a part of a wider community. Interest-led learners may spend days or weeks studying one topic, something that isn’t possible in a more traditional setting. While unschooling is child- led, parents are still actively involved in the learning process. Parents help their children to find resources, mentors and other materials to facilitate learning. Interest-led learning puts children in charge of a large part of their own education, but it still takes a committed parent to create a vibrant learning environment for their child.

School at home

Desirae and Andy Larson, of Tower, are homeschooling their two daughters this year for the first time. The family chose an all-in-one curricula, from a Christian-based publisher, that includes online learning with more traditional paper and pencil work.

“We usually try to start school at 9 a.m.” said Desirae, who also has two toddlers. “That’s one of the things the girls like most. We are in charge of our own days.”

The curriculum that the Larson girls use allows their parents to set the girls’ daily learning schedule. The girls have some days where they have assignments in up to nine subjects, but other days may have only two subjects.

Sabrina and Savanna Larson work mostly independently, and the CD-Rom based curriculum actually grades most of their work. The girls spend anywhere between one and four hours a day on their schoolwork.

“We can be flexible,” Desirae said.

Homeschooling has given the girls more time to spend with their two younger sisters, as well as the two new puppies the family got this year. The girls also have more time for reading, something they both love, as well as for learning some new hobbies. The girls are learning to knit, thanks to help from a neighbor. It has also given them time to be more responsible around the house, helping with daily chores.

The Larsons looked at several types of curricula before deciding on Alpha Omega’s Switched-On Schoolhouse.

“We had been considering this for about a year and a half before we took them out of school,” Desirae said.

They said their daughters liked the idea of doing schoolwork on the computer.

Desirae and Andy said they will wait until they’ve seen their daughter’s testing scores at the end of the year and then decide if they will continue homeschooling.

“We don’t want them to fall behind,” they said. “We want them to become better.”

Eclectic unschoolers

Emily and Ryan Quick, of Embarrass, have found that a more eclectic approach is working great for their two young children. The couple works from home and enjoys the flexibility of homeschooling, which allows them to travel and visit family without having to worry about school schedules.

“We’ve basically just extended the learning they’ve done at home when they were younger,” Emily said. “It’s what we’ve done with them their whole lives.”

The Quicks have a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son.

The two use their everyday lives and their community connections to educate their children, and at this point aren’t using any regular curriculum. Emily said they do have a few workbooks around the house, but they rarely use them. They mostly concentrate on using their everyday lives to teach skills such as reading and math.

Both Emily and Ryan’s mothers are teachers, and both were skeptical at first when they made the decision not to send their daughter to school. Emily’s mother is a retired kindergarten teacher, and Ryan’s mother teaches high school English.

“But now they see the results and are very supportive,” said Emily.

“All kids want to learn,” said Emily. “You have to let them learn at their own pace. I don’t want to force them before they are ready.”

While the Quicks’ daughter was interested in learning to read at a very early age and now reads above grade level, their son only started showing interest a few months ago. But now, at three-and-a-half, he is writing letters, sounding out words and learning to spell.

“We were driving yesterday and he pointed to a sign and told me he knew how to spell stop,” Emily said.

The Quicks have made friends with a couple of other area families who do both formal and informal learning at home. On Monday morning, they were headed to a nearby hotel, to spend the day swimming.

“I have no idea how long we will homeschool,” Emily said. “I’m not anti-school. But we will homeschool as long as it is working for us.” Emily said she is looking forward to “re-learning” subjects she has forgotten, like algebra and chemistry. Ryan has been integrating science into their everyday life as much as possible, and teaching both kids how to explore theories and test hypotheses.

Homeschooling, Tower-Soudan